It’s well known that the mobile Internet is huge and growing fast; what’s surprising is exactly how fast. According to a recent report, within five years more users will connect to the Internet via mobile devices than desktop PCs. YouTube consumption on mobile devices has also grown considerably: playbacks were up 160% in 2009 over the previous year. And we’re excited to announce that YouTube Mobile now receives more than 100 million video playbacks a day. This is roughly the number of daily playbacks that YouTube.com was streaming when we joined forces with Google in 2006.

We launched YouTube on mobile devices in 2007 with about 1,000 videos available on the mobile site (m.youtube.com). While this suddenly opened up the possibility to access videos on the go, our site, mobile browsers and the hardware had limitations that prevented the mobile experience from keeping up with YouTube on the desktop. Today, more than ever, we know that you want to be able to find and access your favorite videos wherever you are. That’s why we’re rolling out an updated version of the mobile site. Here's what's new about it:

It's really fast.

The user interface incorporates larger, more touch-friendly elements, making it easier to access videos on the go.

It incorporates the features and functionality you’ve come to expect from the .com site, like search query suggestions, the options to create playlists, the ability to designate “favorite,” “like” or “unlike” videos directly from your device.

As we make improvements to Youtube.com, you’ll see them quickly follow on our mobile site, unlike native apps which are not updated as frequently.

As the world continues to go mobile, we think this is a great improvement for users who want a more consistent YouTube across many devices, no matter where they are. We're launching in English only today, but will be rolling it out in other languages in the coming months. You can access the latest YouTube mobile site from your iPhone or Android browser. To learn more, visit m.youtube.com to check out the latest improvements and take a minute to watch this demo video:

Why are you not letting webOS users use this? We have a standards-compliant browser which uses WebKit- just like Android and iOS do. So why not let webOS users access this? What happened, Google? Did you forget about us? I thought you loved web-apps because they work on all devices- it's been said time and time again, and was repeated at the 2010 Google I/O keynote. So why are you guys even checking user agents in the first place? Come on, it would take minutes to implement webOS support. I love YouTube, but I also love my Pre Plus... why can't they just get along? The Google Voice web-app and my Pre Plus can get along just fine (but a native app would be awesome.. hint hint ;D), so why not YouTube? Please add webOS support for the new mobile YouTube, Google :)

OK so here's my issue with YouTube Mobile, specifically on Android but I bet the issue goes across device types.

When you are connected to the carrier (3G or other connection) the video defaults to non-HQ. When you are connected to wifi, REGARDLESS of the wifi speed (could be slower than 3g, especially since Starbucks has started offering it free to all), the format defaults to HQ. If the wifi connection is too slow the quality should not default to HQ.

I would like the ability to code my video embeds to default to non-HQ, or for you folks to always default to non-HQ when viewed on mobile, both on embedded videos and in the YouTube app. Users shouldn't have to figure out why their video is skipping just because they connected to an iffy wifi connection.

When you are connected to the carrier (3G or other connection) the video MBT Schuhe defaults to non-HQ. When you are connected to wifi, REGARDLESS of the wifi speed (could be slower than 3g, especially since Starbucks has started offering it free to all), the format defaults to HQ. If the wifi connection is too slow the quality should not default to HQ.